1. Maternal Role Attainment Theory by Ramona T. Mercer
Monique Veney
NURS 620 Theoretical Foundations of Nursing
January 22, 2015

2. Maternal Role Attainment Theory by Ramona T. Mercer
Monique Veney
NURS 620 Theoretical Foundations of Nursing
January 22, 2015

3. Ramona T. Mercer
1929-Born
1950- Diploma graduate St. Margaret’s School of Nursing (Montgomery, Alabama)
1962- Bachelor’s degree in Nursing (University of New Mexico)
1964- Master’s degree (Emory University)
1975- Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh
1975- Various educational and clinical pursuits

4. Ramona T. Mercer Career Focus
Most of career spent in Maternal-Child Health nursing
Early research focused on needs of breastfeeding mothers, teenage mothers, postpartum depression, and mothers of infants with congenital defects
Later research focused on maternal role, familial relationships and antepartum stress

5. Mercer’s Maternal Role Attainment (MRA) Theory
Based on theoretical work of Mercer’s mentor Reva Rubin (maternal role attainment)
Also includes ideas from developmental theorists such as G.H. Mead (1934), R. Turner (1978), Thornton & Nardi (1975) & Burr, Leigh, and Constantine (1957)
Utilizes concepts from Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems theory to identify environmental influences on maternal role

6. Maternal Role Attainment (MRA) Theory

7. Maternal Role Attainment (MRA) Theory Major Concepts
MATERNAL ROLE ATTAINMENT - an interactional and developmental process occurring over a period of time, during which the mother becomes attached to her infant, acquires competence in the care-taking tasks involved in the role, and expresses pleasure and gratification in the role. - “The movement to the personal state in which the mother experiences a sense of harmony, confidence, and competence in how she performs the role is the end point of maternal role attainment – maternal identity”
ATTACHMENT – a component of the parental role and identity. Attachment is viewed as a process in which an enduring affectional and emotional commitment to an individual is formed.
FAMILY – a dynamic system which includes subsystems – individuals (mother, father, fetus/infant) and dyads (mother-father, mother-fetus/infant, and father- fetus/infant) within the overall family system.
FAMILY FUNCTIONING – the individual’s view of the activities and relationships between the family and its subsystems and broader social units..
• INFANT TEMPERAMENT – an easy versus a difficult temperament, it is related to whether the infant sends hard- to-read cues, leading to feelings of incompetence and frustration in the mother.
ROLE STRAIN - the conflict and difficulty felt by the women in fulfilling the maternal role obligation.
SELF-ESTEEM – an individual’s perception of how others view ones and self-acceptance of the perception • SELF- CONCEPT (SELF-REGARD) – “The overall perception of self that includes self-satisfaction, self-acceptance, self- esteem, and congruence of discrepancy between self and ideal self.”

8. Maternal Role Attainment (MRA) Theory Major Assumptions
A relatively stable core self, determines how a mother defines and perceives events
The mother's developmental level and innate personality characteristics influence her behavioral responses.
The mother's role partner, her infant, will reflect the mother's competence in the mothering role
The infant is considered an active partner in the maternal role- taking process
The father or mother's intimate partner contributes to role attainment in a way that can't be duplicated by any other persons.
Maternal identity develops with maternal attachment

9. Maternal Role Attainment (MRA) Theory in Nursing Practice
Theory has a direct effect on the way Maternal-Child health nursing is practiced in health care facilities
Acts as a framework for the nursing process (assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation)
Immediate bonding opportunities after childbirth

10. Maternal Role Attainment (MRA) Theory in Nursing Research
Theory has been utilized as a framework in the formation of other nursing theories
Revised Model of MRA >>>Becoming a Mother (Mercer 2004)
Basis for research on mothering role in adolescents, Mothers of premature infants and mothers w/ post partum depression

11. Maternal Role Attainment (MRA) Theory in Nursing Education
Theory widely accepted and utilized
Taught in nursing school theory courses as well as Maternal–Child and Pediatric nursing
Accepted among other disciplines such as psychology and sociology

12. MRA Literature Review Copeland & Harbaugh(2004)
Researches differences in how single and married 1st time mothers undertake the mothering role
Fenwick, Barclay & Schmied (2008)
Implications for nursing practice in dealing with of mothering needs of infants in NICUs (neonatal intensive care units) or SCNs (special care nurseries)

13. References
Alligood, M. R., & Tomey, A. M. (2010). Chapter 27: Ramona T. Mercer. In Nursing theorists and their work (7th ed., pp ). Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby Elsevier.
Copeland, D. B., & Harbaugh, B. L. (2004, Fall). Transition of maternal competence of married and single mothers in early parenthood. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 13, Retrieved from
Fenwick, J. Barclay, L. & Schmied, V. (2008). Craving closeness: A grounded theory analysis of women's experiences of mothering in the Special Care Nursery. Women and Birth, 21, 71–85.